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Mince Meat

A mixture of finely chopped beef, suet, raisins, apples, and molasses, seasoned with spices and wine, boiled and stored.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the chopped beef, suet, raisins, apples, molasses, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.

  2. Add wine, brandy, or cider to the mixture.

  3. Mix well and boil for fifteen minutes.

  4. Store in jars.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef
Provides the meaty body and richness that forms the base of the filling.
Suet
Adds fat that gives the mixture a moist, rich texture.
Apples
Contribute moisture and tartness that balance the sweetness of the molasses.
Molasses
Provides sweetness, dark colour and a deep, rich flavour.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, molasses, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Orangefits better
  3. Limefits about as well
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, molasses, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Pie Filling 11Pie 10with Apples 9Preserved 8Apple 7Mock 7 See all 183 →

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